25 children died in city’s nutrition centres during 2012-14, reveals RTI
NEW DELHI: Around 25 children died in the Nutrition Rehabilitation Centres (NRCs) in Delhi out of the total 1,420 severely malnourished children admitted there between April 2012 and March 2014, according to information received through an RTI application.
The NRC is a joint initiative of departments of health, and women and child development. As per the findings, there are 19 NRCs in Delhi of which only five are fully functional at Hindu Rao Hospital, Guru Govind Singh Hospital, Sanjay Gandhi Hospital, Kalawati Saran Children’s Hospital and Kasturba Hospital.
The RTI further reveals that of the 25 deaths, 16 were reported Fully Functional NRCs Hindu Rao Hospital Guru Govind Singh Hospital Sanjay Gandhi Hospital Kalawati Saran Hospital Kasturba Hospital Partially Functional NRCs Acharya Bhikshuk Hospital NRCs under process Swami Dayanand Hospital Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital Children Admitted from Hindu Rao Hospital, five in Kalawati Saran Children’s Hospital, two at Kasturba Hospital and two in Swami Dayanand Hospital (which is 547 236 62 229 203 21 109 13 Children Died 16 0 0 5 2 0 2 0 an NRC under process).
“During our visit to two NRCs, not a single child has been referred through local anganwadi centres. In Sanjay Gandhi Hospital, no record is maintained as to in which anganwadi centre a child will be referred to after being discharged. In Guru Govind Singh hospital there is a proper referral mechanism but anganwadis never report about the nutritional status of children to NRCs,” said Arvind Singh, child rights activist, who filed the RTI. “Less than 45% kids were put under follow-up procedure. There is only cook available only in two centres and without dedicated kitchens.”
Manir, 18 months, a preterm child, was admitted to Sanjay Gandhi Hospital on July 10 and weighed 5.4 kg. His weight was less than a severely malnourished child. His mother, who lives in a village near Bareilly district in Uttar Pradesh had first referred him to a local doctor without proper results.